According to the New York Times, the toothbrush doesn't have a speaker. Instead it uses a patented technology that transmits songs and musical vibrations via the bristles and teeth to the inner ear. (It takes pressure, not a brushing movement, to make Tooth Tunes play; kids can trick the brush into playing without actually brushing.)

The song lasts for two minutes, meaning it essentially acts as a timer to keep your kids brushing. And keeping a child brushing longer increases the odds that he or she will hit all the surfaces of the teeth. In one 2005 British study, kids spent about two minutes in the bathroom for tooth brushing, but most of the time the brushes weren't even inside their mouths. They spent 10 seconds brushing the front teeth, 13 seconds on the back teeth…and 30 seconds biting the brush and sucking water out of it.

Sold in drugstores or wherever you buy a regular toothbrush, the Tooth Tunes lasts about six months. Hasbro music entertainment president Dave Capper said it's been easy to sign artists to allow their songs to be used in the brush. According to Capper, KISS bassist Gene Simmons put one of the brushes in his mouth, smiled and said, "We're in."

Now kids in bathrooms everywhere are swaying to the classic "Rock and Roll All Nite". Said Capper, "The song has to be great for brushing."

A Tooth Tunes commercial featuring Stanley and Simmons can be viewed below.

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